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Sign of things to come regarding Homeowner's coverage?...

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Something similar happened in Florida in 2004. The Florida legislature has since changed the insurance laws so it's not likely to happen again.
 
Beach Dad said:
Katrina is the gift that keeps on giving. This could have an additional impact on homeowner's coverage/payouts. A difficult situation getting even more difficult.

Wonder why premiums keep going up?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070111/ap_on_bi_ge/katrina_insurance
Click to expand...

As someone who lost a house in Katrina, I applaud this decision. And if you are planning on buying a house in SoWal, you should, too. These damages are punitive -- punishment -- for a company that denied a claim on false pretenses. These companies denied any and every claim for houses even touched by flood water. If they get away with it for these Katrina claims, why would they ever pay a hurricane related claim in the future?

What's worse than paying astronomical homeowners premiums? Coming back after a hurricane to find your home in a pile of rubble, and the adjuster telling you the damage is not covered under your policy. What could be worse than being required to for a policy that you know offers you no protection?
 
Beachdad I don't think premiums are going up only because of payouts like these. That kind of settlement is small potatoes for the insurance companies.

Keep in mind that Florida's problem is different from problems in other states because of the way the companies operate here. I thought this article was really interesting, and gave some insight into how some companies are calculating new rates:

http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBYF0EVPWE.html

http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBYF0EVPWE.html

This is such a complex issue. The state Legislature is about to convene a special session next week, and there may be some major changes in the laws. :popcorn: I'm sure other papers are covering the issue in depth, but both our local papers have web pages devoted to the latest news.

From the St. Petersburg Times:

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/webspecials06/insurance/

From the Tampa Tribune:

http://news.tbo.com/reports/insurance/index.shtml
 
I am too happy for the folks in MS! Good for them cause State Farm typically goes out of its way not to pay claims regardless if its homeowners or auto coverage. If you don't believe me, ask any attorney! Several years ago a tornado damaged a bunch of homes in a near buy community. A friend of mine's home was damaged when a tree fell on his home and destroyed a side of their home. State Farm had a small one line exclusion in their policey that says it was not responsible or liable for damage due to "acts of God"! Well he took them to court, like several other property owners from that same devastated community, and State Farm won on that language! Ask any attorney, and they will tell you that State Farm insurance looks for any loophole they can find not to pay on any claim.
 
What galls me is when we in Florida get to see those warm-and-fuzzy commercials that Allstate, State Farm and Liberty Mutual run nationally. :eek: :bang: :puke:

Looks like the judge considered the facts carefully ... good for him, good for the people.
 
TooFarTampa said:
Beachdad I don't think premiums are going up only because of payouts like these. That kind of settlement is small potatoes for the insurance companies.

Keep in mind that Florida's problem is different from problems in other states because of the way the companies operate here. I thought this article was really interesting, and gave some insight into how some companies are calculating new rates:

http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBYF0EVPWE.html



This is such a complex issue. The state Legislature is about to convene a special session next week, and there may be some major changes in the laws. :popcorn: I'm sure other papers are covering the issue in depth, but both our local papers have web pages devoted to the latest news.

From the St. Petersburg Times:

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/webspecials06/insurance/

From the Tampa Tribune:

http://news.tbo.com/reports/insurance/index.shtml
Click to expand...

You are right on that it is a complex issue. I'm a skeptic in believing that ANY state legislature will ever create a workable solution. Most states don't even have a balanced budget, so looking for them for financial advice seems like an exercise in futility.

I am thrilled to see State Farm (or any company) be held accountable for acts of stupidity. No doubt many of their policyholders are being forced to take them to court because they choose not to do the right thing.

Too bad the MS Insurance Commissioner doesn't have some kind of arbitration system that would force these companies to be subjected to the decisions of a panel of impartial industry experts (I'll create one as soon as I get my magic wand) assigned the task of reviewing these complex hurricane claims. If there were some way to take away a company's subjective claims process, perhaps I'd feel better for those impacted.

They don't learn lessons when they pay fines. They usually settle. So this couple gets a million bucks, the attorneys for both sides get a nice chunk of change, and it sets a precedent for every policyholder to line up for their share. That more than likely will not be enough to change the company's behavior. There has to be more downside for them - like not being able to sell insurance in that state ever again, and being forced to pay in full every disputed claim they lose. Then they will pay again when the general public in other states drops them because of their bad reputation.

It bothers me that even though it might be a drop in the bucket for this one claim, get a few thousand of those and you're talking about some serious money. And ultimately, all State Farm policyholders will end up paying for it. I doubt they have any money trees growing at their headquarters.
 
I have actually had good experience with State Farm. Two claims on my primary residence - one from a leak in my roof and one from a frozen pipe. On the first, the leak was caused by an original builder problem from about 6-7 years earlier. They did not pay to fix the roof but they paid for the damage caused by water. Two guys came out and got on the roof and then came inside and looked at the sheetrock, etc. They paid for repairs and all repainting of continuous surfaces (which was pretty huge due to the layout of the rooms).

On the second, I called them on the phone. They asked about the damages and the agent on the phone did a quick calculation based on square footage and ordered a check right then. No inspection required. All they did was subtract my deductible.
 
Allstate was actually pretty good to deal with in 2003 when we had about 10K of home damage from a freak electrical storm.

But in a mass claim situation, it all goes down hill quickly. It seems like the only insurer I heard nice things about after Ivan was Nationwide, and I wouldn't be surprised if they had their share of unhappy customers as well.
 
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